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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Robber Barons And Humbuggers: The Rise Of Philanthropic Museums In Nineteenth-Century New York, Meaghan O'Connor Aug 2014

Robber Barons And Humbuggers: The Rise Of Philanthropic Museums In Nineteenth-Century New York, Meaghan O'Connor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

New York City's most recognizable museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History came to prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century thanks to the support of wealthy benefactors. At the same time, social reformers, mostly Protestant and middle or upper-class, were combating the vice and poverty that they saw in the diversifying city with a moralizing rhetoric of character building. This paper will show that these two movements, the rise of Philanthropic Museums and the Social Reform movement were connected and that the large temple-like museums that thrive to this day …


Handling The “Curation Crisis:” Database Management For Archaeological Collections, Karen Thomson May 2014

Handling The “Curation Crisis:” Database Management For Archaeological Collections, Karen Thomson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Archaeological collecting practices have created a predicament for museums and archaeological repositories that today is commonly referred to as the “curation crisis.” As new excavations continue to be organized each year, accumulated collections find themselves haphazardly stored in museums with few plans for their long-term management, care and preservation. While the existence of a “curation crisis” has been widely accepted in the United States since the 1970s, there is little agreement as to a solution that can be accomplished in a practical, affordable, and effective manner. As a consequence, it may take a long time for the crisis to be …